The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany

While the pilots and air crew who flew World War II bombers were still alive in the 1990s, the late Stephen Ambrose interviewed his friend, Senator George McGovern, about his experiences as a pilot of a B-24 — flying 35 missions over Nazi-occupied territory in 1944 and 1945. This led to the opportunity to interview those on McGovern’s crew, who went through training with him, or fought alongside as pilots and crew themselves.This is not a book about the strategy of the bombing campaigns, the technical details of flying the B-24 aircraft, or of bombing accuracy and achievements and failures.Instead it is a very personal story about how the war swept up a generation in their late teens or early 20s beginning in 1942 and trained them for war, as pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and other crew members of what was then one of the most complex aircraft ever built. The vast majority had never been up in the air and some had never even seen an aircraft. McGovern, born in 1922, was a freshman in a small Methodist college in South Dakota and there in 1940 enrolled in a newly-established Civilian Pilot Training Program. The government realized it would need pilots in an impending war.Although many in the book flew with McGovern or had a personal connection in combat at the time, Ambrose and his son Hugh completed interviews or reviewed memoirs, collections of letters, diaries and photographs from more than 500 men who flew B-24s from bases in Italy or elsewhere.For those destined to fly, the danger began in training and extended into a high rate of loss in combat. Of the 17 original crews that began training with McGovern, only six finished the war. The danger increased as crews began flying combat missions. Only one in four crews that arrived in Italy with McGovern in July, 1944, survived through April, 1945. McGovern was lucky to fly in the latter part of the war in Europe, when the German Luftwaffe fighters had largely been decimated or grounded for lack of fuel. Still, the anti-aircraft artillery had become more lethal as the war progressed and most of the bombers were brought down by flak.McGovern, by all accounts, was a very skilled pilot but luck also paid a part in completing 35 combat missions. Those in his crew who Ambrose was able to interview felt they had one of the best pilots in the bomb group. He apparently possessed extraordinary vision and depth perception, and he endeared himself to his crew by being unpretentious but also very serious and thorough abut his job — essential qualities to survival. His leadership skills were greatly admired.The book is arranged chronologically beginning with the fact that these young men came from all over the country and, by our standards today, were “unsophisticated.” They had rarely strayed from their place of birth. Many were farm kids. Most grew up in various levels of deprivation brought on by the Great Depression of the 1930s.Ambrose uses McGovern’s experience to describe early flight training in single engine aircraft, moving eventually to the complexity of the B-24, one of the most difficult and unforgiving four engine bombers to fly. Ultimately, it was another great challenge to learn to fly in combat. Five chapters are devoted to the period of just under a year when McGovern, based in Italy, flew his 35 missions. McGovern and others interviewed by the author also describe life at a primitive air base in Italy, the poverty of the local Italian population suffering from the war, and the sharing of letters from home.The men of this extraordinary generation are no longer with us. We owe them a lot, and Ambrose has done a service by recording their memories and achievements before they passed.

Stephen Ambrose was generally a very good writer (I have read a couple of his other WW2 books) though two things disappointed me about this one:1) The book largely focused on the experiences of George McGovern (who later became a pretty prominent politician in the U.S.)2) For an aviation nerd like me, there wasn't nearly enough technical content about the B24's. This Iatter point I think was perhaps because Ambrose himself wasn't an aviation nerd so he probably didn't want to look foolish writing about something he didn't really understand.Don't get me wrong, it's a good read - very enlightening on how much training the pilots received.

Content good

A very well researched and written by Steven Ambrose

The topic is rather narrow but still very interesting. It was not the aviation aspects that I found most captivating, which is treated so much better in numerous other books and novels, but the make up of men (no women yet) who ended up prosecuting this massive air campaign, the mind-numbing size and scale of the effort, the logistics, the training and the youth of these aerial fighters. This was highlighted to a higher degree in this book than many other similar works. Most impressive was the extensive training programs that were implemented in short order that were able to transform so many ordinary citizens into experts at flying these complex machines and delivering their deadly cargoes into the heart of the Nazi empire. This is in such keeping with the uniquely egalitarian American traditions. Contrast this with our current reliance on a warrior class to take on these responsibilities. The book follows the involvement in WWII of a very young McGovern and his crew, which makes it all the more interesting. Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable behind the yoke? That was the Greatest Generation!Though the risks they took were tremendous, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been. Note that, through none of his required 35 missions, a single German or Italian fighter ever attacks McGovern's ship. Which is most surprising. By his entry into war in late 44, Luftwaffe was already cut down to size, and maybe that's why the 8th gets more of the glory, which was mauled heavily by the best of Germans fighters early on. Unlike American pilots, Germans did not have the luxury of a decent training away from combat zone, and typically flew until shot down. It was also noteworthy that the heavy bombing of German and Austrian targets continued unabated until two weeks before the surrender of the German Army!The writing is quite unattractive, as if in one afternoon he just copied all his notes and called it a book. His sentences are short and stucco, as if using military efficiency himself. He also paints the characters into larger than life heroes. Though understandable, it is obviously unrealistic and takes away from the book. Still, there is no evidence of any one of the men described ever doubting the mission, or why they are so far from home fighting an enemy that does not seem to be an immediate threat to USA. This is most interesting and also impressive.It must be noted that the skills in organizing such massive undertakings in USA, from production ramps to training and logistics, and the sheer number of people who experienced such responsibilities at such early age who then joined the private and government sectors must be one of the reasons for rapid dominance of American industry following the war. Whereas in Germany for example, factories running in underground complexes, with severe shortages of basics and manned mostly by slave labor, did not produce many transferable skills to peace time industrial activities.It is a good read, not the best of its kind for sure, but worthwhile.

Seeing the air war through the experience of the pilots and crew themselves, Ambrose sharpens our appreciation for the way the character and integrity of men so young enabled them to maintain courage at a time when the odds of survival in the air war were worse than those of men on the ground. They had intelligence, pluck, acute skills of reflex and strength, plus the ability to make instant decisions that could save lives or sacrifice them for the greater cause. In this age when heroic soldiers have been swift-boated or denigrated for suffering in prisoner of war camps just because they serve in politics, to read about George McGovern was fascinating. I’d like to have his courage. Anyone would. When he ran for President, I don’t recall his heroic service celebrated as it should have been. Likely, he did not see it as something to exploit. The phrase, “one hell of an American” truly applies, though.

A good read as always with Mr Ambrose.Read this and then watched Memphis BelleA good combo.

Full of detail and with photos, less action packed but still very enjoyable and with plenty of personal crew input.

libro interessante, ripasso la lingua inglese e storia allo stesso tempo

Excellent book

the book gives you a great insight into the way of life of a war time aircrew very informative and humbling